Containing a substantial number of biographical notes and
images spanning several generations, the digitised collection also includes a
number of letters between Galton and notable Victorian scientists, travellers,
and politicians including his cousin Charles Darwin and Joseph Hooker.

The comprehensive collection has been added to the Codebreakers: Makers of Modern
Genetics project, which aims to provide a documentary record of
modern genetics, not only from a scientific perspective, but also from
political, economic, technological, social, cultural and personal viewpoints.

UCL’s Galton Archive comprises
an extensive collection of Galton’s personal papers, scientific research and
correspondence, bequeathed to UCL on his death in 1911.

Known primarily for his work on heredity and eugenics,
Galton also made significant contributions to the fields of statistics,
meteorology, criminology and crime science.

Katy Makin (UCL Library Services), the Project Archivist,
said: “Galton is perhaps best known for his studies into heredity, more
specifically as the ‘father’ of eugenics. It is his eugenic ideas, and
especially their appropriation in the 20th century, that colour
perceptions of Galton and make writing about him a challenge. However, although
many of Galton’s theories, including eugenics, have been soundly discredited,
these were only part of the work he carried out over his lifetime.

“Working on cataloguing and conserving Galton’s archive has
been a challenge because, despite his affluence, he had a habit of making his
own stationery and recycling paper wherever possible. It is not always easy to
tell if you are looking at something profoundly interesting or just old notes
re-used as packaging for something else.”

Not to be confused with the Galton Archive, the Galton Collection, which includes Galton's personal effects,
custom-made instruments used in his research and objects from the Galton
Laboratory, is housed separately at UCL.

Both the Archive and the Collection
are valuable resources for teaching at UCL, schools, and for researchers with
an interest in the history of science and cultural studies.